Flashback Friday: Black bear in Clintonville

CLINTONVILLE--Black bears seem to be a popular sight in neighborhoods around the area lately.

A one-year-old black bear cub was spotted off Green Bay Street in Shawano in May.

Another one was also spotted in Clintonville in 2005.

Fox 11's Laura Smith has more in this week's Flashback Friday.

It was an uneventful Sunday afternoon for Tresh Martinez and her two kids....

"My oldest and I were playing trucks in the sand...." said Tresh Martinez, Clintonville.

Until....

"Next thing I know, my youngest looks up at me and says "momma, a doggy" and starts running for it", said Martinez.

That's when Martinez realized this was no dog, it was a 130-pound black bear cub.

"The bear didn't act at all mean, aggressive. He just kind of looked at my youngest and trotted onto my neighbor's yard", said Martinez.

"Never seen a bear before", said Tammy Kettenhoven, Clintonville.

Martinez's neighbor Tammy Kettenhoven got the bear on tape---this is home video her husband shot of it after some dogs chased it up a tree.

"We seen the bear run across the street and then went up into the tree over there", said Kettenhoven.

Kettenhoven says the bear stayed up in the tree for about an hour and a half. Throughout the afternoon, neighbors gathered to watch the cub, while police patrolled the scene.

"Conservation Warden Todd Wipperman says bears usually come in to town looking for a bite to eat. He says if you do run into one, don't try to corner it. Instead, back away while watching the bear", said Laura Smith, FOX 11 News.

"Normally they just want out. They do not want a confrontation and they're just bumbling along looking for free food", said Todd Wipperman, Conservation Warden.

Wipperman says it's fairly common to see black bears in Waupaca County---He thinks the bear came from the east side of town along the Pigeon River bottoms, because bears like cool, damp areas. He thinks it's unlikely the cub will return anytime soon.

"He did not get a real good welcome yesterday--he met some dogs, some of the dogs were probably bigger than him and he probably learned something yesterday", said Wipperman.

Neighbors say they aren't afraid of the cub, but they'll keep a close eye on their kids this summer, just in case the bear returns. In Clintonville, Laura Smith, FOX 11 News.